KUALA LUMPUR: Former secretary of the Finance Division of the Youth and Sports Ministry, Otman Arsahd was found guilty by the Sessions Court here Thursday (July 6) on 32 charges of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in jail and fined RM284.2mil.

Judge Kamarudin Kamsun handed down the sentence on Otman, 64, after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt at the end of the defence case.

"After hearing the sworn statements from all the witnesses and examining all the exhibits and arguments presented, the court decided that the defence failed to raise reasonable doubts against the prosecution's case.

"Therefore, the accused is found guilty and convicted of all the charges brought against him," said Kamarudin.

On the 32 charges of corruption, 17 counts were for submitting false claims, for which Otman was sentenced to a total of 243 years in jail and a fine totalling RM190mil, in default 119 months in jail, while for the 15 charges, which were for misusing his position, he was sentenced to 85 years imprisonment and fined RM10.8mil, in default 125 months in jail.

Meanwhile, for the 64 money laundering charges involving receiving proceeds from unlawful activities, the court ordered Otman to be jailed for between three months and 11 years on each count and fined a total of RM83.4mil, in default 934 months.

However, Kamarudin ordered all the prison sentences to be served concurrently starting today, meaning he will only be in jail for 15 years.

The judge also allowed an application by lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, representing Otman, for a stay of the execution of the fine and prison sentence with the bail increased by RM300,000 in one surety, with RM100,000 to be paid today and the balance before or on this Monday (July 10). - Bernama